The present invention, claimed below, relates to a connector assembly, a circuit board assembly, a cable assembly and to a method of manufacturing a connector assembly.
Embodiments have particular applicability in the field of Radio Frequency (RF) connectors having multiple ports with a high density.
There are many environments where there is a need for high-reliability, high-density Radio Frequency systems. For example, it is known to use such systems in satellite, aerospace and defence applications, e.g. ground base stations and communication systems, land and sea anti-ballistic signal processing, avionics and ground-based radar systems, and electronic countermeasures.
The ever increasing requirement for high density Radio Frequency devices has resulted in great advances in the fields of semiconductor technologies, enabling miniaturisations and the introduction of very compact devices which would otherwise not be possible. An area where there is still room for much improvement is in suitable connectors for use with such RF systems. There has been work done in the way of miniaturisation which has given way to a range of microminiaturised connectors with lock-snap mechanisms. This has resulted in multiple coaxial connectors enabling high density, multiple RF connectivity. A problem with such miniaturisation is that it becomes difficult to maintain high isolation in these high density connector assemblies. The goal of a RF line is to maintain the electric and magnetic fields between the two conductors. Due to mechanical and manufacturing constraints, perfect shielding is difficult to achieve. Therefore, part of the RF energy can leak from the transmission line which causes interference (cross talk) or even errors in a system. The leakage is dependent on the frequency as well as on the physical construction of the line. Prior art systems have not adequately addressed how to manage RF leakage and shielding in such connector systems.
The present disclosure aims to address these problems in the known systems.